


Welcome to Chili's

by velljob



Series: Heard It Through The Grapevine [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Bruce Banner Needs a Hug, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Food, M/M, Original Male Derek, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, rated Teen because I use the heck word, the ship is there but only if you squint, vine references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-07 09:06:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18617509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/velljob/pseuds/velljob
Summary: Getting food after a fight has become a sort of tradition for the Avengers.





	Welcome to Chili's

Tony sighed, rolling his neck over his shoulders as best he could while still in the Iron Man suit, touching down on the pavement in front of Steve and Natasha. Nat was sitting on the bonnet of a car, her expression blank and eyes distant, and even the super soldier was breathing hard, wiping green blood and bits of radioactive sewer monster off his shield with a grim expression.

"I can't believe I'm about to suggest this, but Chili's?" Tony asked, pointing down the street to where a glowing neon sign indicated the restaurant chain. Behind them, a thump and groaned curse indicated that Hawkeye had climbed down from his sniper's nest. "Ygritte! You okay with Chili's?"

"Whatever. I need a beer," the archer responded, trudging over with a heavy gait and dropping an arm around Natasha as he joined her on her perch. She sagged into him a little as they listened to Thor on the comms, softly trying to convince Bruce to let him fly them back to the others.

Tony flipped his faceplate up, glancing to Steve for confirmation they were finished. The blonde's lips quirked, his eyes crinkling at the edges and softening his whole expression in the process. After shawarma in the post-battle ruins of the Chitauri invasion it had become a tradition for the team to go straight to the nearest restaurant after a fight, so long as no one was critically injured, and Tony knew their leader valued the chance for team bonding.

"You know Fury hates it when we do that," Steve said, cocking a half-grin that was mostly Steve Rogers, the guy who picked fights like they were going out of style, and not Captain America, poster-boy for soldiers everywhere.

"Let him," Tony countered easily. "We'll tell him you were getting cranky and needed one of those family-sized meals you call a snack."

Steve barked a short laugh. Tony cracked a grin of his own.

 

Derek Andrew Thompson, full-time Chili's Manager, was having a bad day. He'd skipped breakfast, drinking half a cup of coffee when he got to work instead, had two wait staff call in sick, and a sudden downpour when he was on his way from the subway had drenched him through.

Then, half an hour into his shift, monsters had erupted from the sewers.

Grateful for the small mercy of the corporate office issuing detailed lock-down plans after the world found out that aliens were a very real threat, he immediately corralled terrified tourists and staff into the kitchens, barricading them in and covering the windows just as he'd been shown. He, along with the twenty or so others who had been inside when the first sludge creature hit the street, gathered around tablets and phones, a little cheered but still horrified as the Avengers turned up to deal with the situation.

It seemed like an age before a wind-swept reporter on his screen was telling viewers that the situation had been contained. A ripple of relieved sighs broke out across the kitchen, and Derek realised cold sweat was running down the back of his neck. With shaking hands, he put down the tablet on the counter, heaving a couple of deep breaths.

"Uh, Derek?" one of the busboys said with some uncertainty. He was peering out behind the paper which was covering the windows into the kitchen. "You might want to come look at this, man."

Derek opened his mouth to tell Lombardi he was breaking the safety of the lockdown and found he was too drained. Stepping over to the door, he looked out towards the host's stand near the front door, where Tony Stark was standing or, more accurately, leaning, looking for all the world like hanging out in a Chili's in his Iron Man armour was something he did every day. He was smiling gently at a very disheveled-looking Bruce Banner, who was swaying like he was seconds from collapsing.

Before he realised what he was doing, Derek found himself walking out of the kitchen towards the assembled Avengers. "Welcome to Chili's," he heard himself say. "Party of six?"

Stark turned a thousand watt smile on him. "We sure are," he said amicably, holding out a credit card towards him.

"Where do you-" Derek started as he took it, before biting his tongue. It probably wasn't appropriate to ask the billionaire superhero where he kept his wallet in his high-tech suit of armour.

Stark's grin widened, reaching his eyes. "I can and do wear pants in this thing," he chuckled. "Even if people like to imagine I don't." He glanced at Captain America, who had moved to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the armour. "Right, Cap?"

If he hadn't been standing a foot away from the national icon - and wasn't that just something his pounding heart and swimming head were trying to ignore - Derek would have missed the way Steve Roger's face went a deep shade of pink. He turned to look at Stark with an expression of deep, personal frustration etched into his features, which only made the older man laugh and clap him on the shoulder.

"Charge everything to the card," Stark said, turning back to Derek, adding, "including whatever those people are having," as he gestured towards the back of the room. "Extra tips if you lock the front door and keep the press out."

Derek turned, finding his staff and the few patrons who had been present filtering out of the kitchen. "Okay," he said faintly as Captain America and Thor walked past him towards a large booth; Hawkeye was giggling with Black Widow and Stark began nudging Banner towards a seat with a non-stop stream of teasing. He looked his staff over as he approached them, finding they seemed no worse for wear. "If anyone wants to go home, I understand," he told them. "But if you can manage it, I can organise double time for anyone who sticks around. We'd have to throw out a lot of the food if we shut and …" he trailed off, looking back over at the Avengers. "I feel like this is a small way we can say thanks. To them. For everything."

There was silence for a moment and then, one after the other, he saw smiles begin to steal across the faces of his team. "Hell yeah," Lombardi crowed. "Let's do this."

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so this is actually [two](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEGCAS8nCPU) [vines](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjPjNtrpwG0) but I only used the name from one of them.
> 
> I started this before I saw Endgame and finished it after and I think you can tell from the dramatic shift in tone, haha. Also, I am Australian and have been to Chili's once in my life. I hope what I wrote wasn't too off base?
> 
> Feel free to give me prompts for this series in the comments or on my [Twitter](https://twitter.com/velljob).
> 
> I'm happy to be critiqued on my writing if you have thoughts or if you see typos etc.


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